BOGUE CHITTO – The Bogue Chitto Bobcats (9-1; 7-1) saw their undefeated season come to an end as the Salem Wildcats (6-3; 5-3) edged the Bobcats 21-20 in Region 4-1A play Friday night at Troy-Smith Field.

The Bobcats came out of the gate sloppy to start the first quarter. Salem was the first to get on the board when Cedric Damond scored on a 22-yard run at the 9:13 mark of the first quarter. Dale McDaniel’s kick was no good.

BC made the first mistake of the game when a bad snap occurred, and Aaron Quinn recovered the football for the Salem Wildcats. At the end of the first quarter, the Salem Wildcats led 6-0.

In the second quarter, the Salem Wildcats put eight more points on the board when Austin Fazande caught a 49-yard touchdown pass at the 11:51 mark and the two-point conversion was good. At the 8:51 mark, the Wildcats’ defense held its ground and forced the Bobcats to punt the football.

At the 7:02 mark of the second quarter, the Bobcats’ defense finally held their ground and forced Salem to punt the football. Bogue Chitto had a fourth down conversion at the four-minute mark to keep their drive alive. The Bobcats made their second mistake when Brock Roberts did not handle the snap, and the Wildcats recovered the football at the 3:44 mark left in the half. The Wildcats managed to hold a 14-0 lead over the Bobcats going in the locker room at the half.

In the third quarter, the Bobcats came out running on all cylinders. Jermaine Blackwell put the first number on the scoreboard for the Bobcats when he scored on a nine-yard run at the 8:18 mark. Cameron Price’s kick was no good. The Bobcats’ defense held strong against the Wildcats’ running attack in the third quarter. Jermaine Blackwell scored again on a five-yard run at the 2:38 mark. BC went for the two-point conversion and didn’t get it, and Salem led the Bobcats 14-12 at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats added to their lead when Austin Fazande scored on a 45-yard run at the 9:17 mark. Dale McDaniel’s kick was good.

At the 9:15 mark, the Salem Wildcats’ special teams helped the cause when they recovered an on-side kick. At the 5:24 mark, the Bobcats defense held their ground and caused Salem to turn the football over on downs. Brock Roberts scored on a four-yard run with 3:52 left to go in the game. The Bobcats went for the two-point conversion and got it when Brock Roberts connected with Damein Terrell on a three-yard reception.

Bogue Chitto’s Jeremy Blackwell forced the Wildcats to fumble the football, and the Bobcats recovered with 56 seconds left in the game. After a timeout, Coach Sartin called on his place kicker Cameron Price in hopes of kicking a game-winning 35-yard field goal.

The field goal unit lined up, the snap was good, the hold was good, but the kick was wide left and no good. The Wildcats beat BC 21-20.

Offensively for the Bobcats, Brock Roberts had 17 carries for 77 yards and one touchdown. Jermaine Blackwell had 14 carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Roberts had three completions out of 10 attempts for 66 yards. Damein Terrell had two catches for 61 yards. Dennis Rogers had one catch for six yards.

Defensively for the Bobcats, Jeremy Blackwell led the team with 16 tackles and a forced fumble. Brock Roberts assisted with 10 tackles. Dakota McGary had eight tackles. Seth Hodges and Jermaine Blackwell both had five tackles apiece.

The Bobcats will travel to Jasper County next week to take on the Stringer Red Devils for the District Championship Friday night. Kick is at 7 p.m.